Going Long
by Texan Red Rose
Summary: As a die hard sports fan, Yang maintains certain traditions to cheer on her team. She didn't think her girlfriends would be keen on joining her but... well, maybe it's time to make some new traditions.


**Disclaimer:** It's minimal but: polyparents (Raven/Summer/Tai) in the background. For Onphs

* * *

Yang licked her lips, inhaling deeply as steam rose off the wings she'd just finished slathering in buffalo sauce, the spice hardly enough to register considering her usual diet but enticing all the same. Chips and dip already sat on the coffee table, the dull droning of the pregame festivities background noise as she finished up her cooking and grabbed a beer from the fridge on her way to the living room. According to storied Xiao Long tradition, she had everything set for the big game: food on the table, beer in the fridge, her favorite player's jersey fitting her rather tight- he hadn't played football in over ten years and they'd discontinued his jerseys outside of special occasions, and she'd done quite a bit of growing over the past decade- and she had a picture of herself and her family, all packed in on their couch back in Patch, with the exact same spread before them, on the side table.

Days like today, she'd trade just about anything to be with them rather than an ocean away. Even if it meant putting up with Uncle Qrow's really loud objections to every missed call and Mom's biting sarcasm when things weren't going well for her team, with Dad and Momma playing peacekeepers as best they could considering Mom and Qrow opted to take their sibling rivalry to the next level and intentionally root for opposing teams. It could turn the place into a madhouse but that was the tradition she and Ruby grew up with and some part of her missed all the noise, even if it made hearing the game tough.

Setting the tray of wings down on the table, she plopped onto the couch and rubbed her hands together, glancing at the picture and smiling, pulling out her scroll.

"Yang!" Ruby's voice hardly rose above the din in the background, though her expression conveyed her pleasant surprise well enough. "Didn't think you'd be calling!"

"Yeah, I have game days off this year." She shrugged. "I kinda missed being able to watch last year. How're things going over there?" In the background, Mom and Qrow were shouting about which team had the better quarterback and which would have the better record, while Momma hollered from the kitchen that they'd better not break anything again. "Same as usual?"

"You could say that." Ruby laughed. "We miss you, ya know. Especially on days like this."

"Yeah, I miss being there." She smirked. "Although, having a nice, calm, quiet game is something to look forward to, gotta admit."

Her sister's brows pinched together. "Wait, you're watching alone? What about your girlfriends?"

"Oh. Uh. Well." She scratched at the back of her neck, wincing slightly. She'd made mention of her inclination to follows most sports, football, rugby, and lacrosse especially, but one had never taken much interest in sports and the other preferred golf and the like. Which, honestly, didn't bother her in the slightest; everyone had their own little quirks. "It's… not really their thing."

"Huh. Okay. Well, let me know what it's like!" Turning her scroll, Ruby treated her to the sight of Mom and Qrow slap fighting like children while Momma stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and watching them with a bemused expression, white hood flipped down for the moment. When she flipped it _up_ , that's when everyone knew to settle down, or else. "As you can see, nothing's really changed around here, so… nothing new to report, I guess."

"Ah, don't be like that. What about your graduation coming up?" Although chuckling at her family's antics, Yang rolled right along with a wide smile. "You excited? You're gonna be the first one of us with a degree, you know."

"Oh, yeah, thanks, no pressure or anything!" Ruby laughed. "But, really, I just can't wait! Not only can I open up my own shop, but I won't have to live all the way over in Vale."

"You're moving back to Patch?"

"Uh… actually." Her little sister bit her lip. "I was thinking about going to Atlas." With a shrug, she continued quickly. "I mean, not that I wanna crowd you or anything but… ya know… I miss you. And _this_ -" she hiked a thumb behind her "-I could deal with seeing only on holidays."

Snorting, she reached over and grabbed her beer, taking a swig before responding. "I'm kinda flattered, Rubes. Never thought you'd want to follow in your big sis' footsteps _that_ much; run off to Atlas at twenty like you've got a plan."

"Seems like it worked for you." Ruby raised a poignant brow. "Plus, _I_ actually have one."

"Yeah, but I-" Three sharp but resonating knocks on the door made her stop, a frown touching her lips. "Who the hell-"

"Something up?"

"Someone's at the door." She got off the couch. "I'll call you back, okay?"

Tucking her scroll into her back pocket, Yang reached the door and unlocked it, not bothering to take a peek before opening it up, though she probably should've to prepare herself for the shock. "Winter? Blake?"

"Hey, stranger." The Faunus offered her a cheeky grin, tilting her head to the side. "Really that surprised to see us?"

"Well, not _you_ , specifically, but, uh… dressed like _that_? Yeah, a little surprising."

Normally, Winter would be wearing a suit or some nice, tight fitting jeans, a ridiculously fancy shirt, and a jacket even in the heat of summer, which made a _small_ amount of sense given how she'd lived most of her life to the far north. Blake tended for what could only be described as a 'librarian' look- business casual unless it was a lazy day with sweatpants and a hoodie.

Right now, both of them wore jeans with jerseys like hers, albeit for players currently on the team, and Winter had gone the extra mile with black marks drawn beneath her eyes with face paint. They were also carrying a few bags- store bought chicken wings and a case of beer.

"We realize this may be a bit sudden… but we talked it over." Winter lightly bumped her shoulder against Blake's, prompting her to speak up.

"Yeah, this… is an important activity for you, and we wanted to… share it?"

Yang's lips quirked up into a smirk, arms crossing over her chest. "Okay, how many times did you two rehearse this before showing up to fall flat on your faces?"

"Sixteen times," the Faunus replied, shooting their girlfriend a look that clearly indicated who insisted upon it.

"I'll admit I didn't know how to best approach the situation except for the blunt and straight forward approach." Blue eyes darted away for a moment. "Which… seemed to have served me as well as ever."

"I dunno. Worked out well _once_ or twice." Opening the door all the way, she motioned inside her apartment. "Come on in. Game's about to start." As her girlfriends shuffled inside, she shook her head. "Ya know… I never really brought it up because I didn't think either of you would, uh, enjoy it the way I do."

"Probably not, if we're being honest," Blake said, going to the kitchen and putting the beer in the fridge. "But, it's not like you're a fan of symphonies, yet you always go with us."

"And we both went to that modern art expo with Blake, even though we didn't really… _get_ it." Winter shrugged, setting her bag on the table. "We have different interests; that doesn't preclude us from doing them together."

"Got me there." Before she settled down, Yang went to the kitchen and grabbed a stack of napkins. Usually, she'd just lick the sauce off her fingers, but she doubted either of her girlfriends would be inclined to do the same. The moment she got back to the living room, however, she realized it was a moot point. "You got boneless wings? Really?"

Winter paused, fork in hand. "Is… that a problem?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Blake regarding her own container of bonesless wings- honey barbeque by the smell.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Nah. No problem at all." Taking the middle seat, Blake settled on the right side of the couch while Winter took the left. "Guess that's one of the perks."

"Perks?" Feline ears perked up, her head tilting to the side.

"Of traditions." Lilac eyes glanced over to the picture of her family. "Always room to make new ones."

As she started digging into her own wings, the teams took the field in preparation for kickoff, and she had a good minute of peace before Blake hummed, biting back a question while trying to piece together the answer for herself. Licking her fingers clean- and surprisingly not receiving so much as a disproving look for it- Yang proceeded with explaining the rules of the game, the fouls, the positions, the strategies… honestly, once someone got her talking about football, she just didn't stop.

Which… was sometimes hard around other football folk. Everyone had their own take- in the privacy of their own home, _everyone_ thought they could do better than what they saw on screen, from play calling to fouls- and it was only a matter of time before someone decided to chime in with something and the whole conversation turned, and snowballed, and then someone would make a grab for the NERF guns, and it just escalated from there.

But with Winter and Blake, they just listened. Tried to celebrate what they thought were good plays- which was pretty much anything that amounted to gained yardage when the team was on offense and any sort of stop on defense- and held their breath with Yang whenever a big play looked imminent. It was _very_ refreshing, actually.

As they waited for the second quarter to start while popping open another beer all around, Yang made a noise in the back of her throat.

"So… what do you two think?" She raised a brow. "Game day dates or nah?"

"I'll admit this can be rather enjoyable." Winter grabbed a chip, taking a hardy scoop of hummus but waiting for a moment to enjoy it. "I rather do like seeing you so animated."

"I'll second that," Blake said, though her ears twitched. "Though I'm still a little hesitant to go to a sports bar. Might be too much noise."

"Oh, no worries there; from my experience, me being in public when my team starts losing is bound to start a fight." Yang winced, running a hand through her hair. "It's not like I _start_ them or anything, really, but I tend to be a smartass, and someone takes it the wrong way, and then-"

"Have you ever considered playing?" Amber eyes twinkled with mischief. "You could put all that energy to good use in a recreational league, right?"

"Would you two cheer me on?" The second quarter started, resuming a drive that had the possibility of putting her team on top, _if_ they didn't choke. "Pom poms, dancing, the works?"

Winter hummed, a little smirk coming to her lips- one that promised she had a few thoughts regarding that particular suggestion. "I'm willing to consider it."

Yang took a sip of her beer, noting that her girlfriends had moved a little closer on the couch, their shoulders nearly brushing hers. Usually, she'd be fighting to keep her spot on the couch or abandoning it to avoid being caught between Uncle and Mom. Now, though, she rather liked being surrounded by such pleasant company, and the arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist, Blake's head leaning against her while Winter lightly trailed her fingers through golden locks. She could really get used to-

"GO!" Shooting to her feet, the blonde hollered as a gap opened, giving her team a shot at taking the lead. "GO GO GO GO!"

"Yes! Continue with the running-" Winter joined her, though a bit of confusion could be heard in his voice. "Isn't he supposed to be running _up_ the field?"

"I think he's trying to… dodge?" Blake had also joined them on her feet but seemed equally mystified. "Who are we rooting for again?"

"THE ONES IN GREEN- C'MON, C'MON!" Yang bounced on her toes, gaze riveted to the screen. "JUST GET TO THE END ZONE AL- YES!" The player jumped _over_ the last defender, somersaulting into the end zone, _finally_ giving her team the lead. "FINALLY! YES! YES!"

"Oh, great, we… scored… why does it go up by six, again?" Feline ears flattened, her nose scrunching up as she looked over to her other girlfriend.

"To be unique?" Somewhat at a loss for what to do, she clapped- politely, of course, rather than the thunderous sound being produced by Yang's own hands. "Does he get extra points for style?"

"No, that's just for fun. _Man_ that was a good play!" She leaned back, plopping onto the couch and sighing. "Geez, that took way too long. Now we just have to keep the lead. As long as we- ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

Groaning, Yang closed her eyes, trying to not _completely_ lose faith after the kicker managed to miss the extra point, which would've put them just a bit further ahead. Almost instantly, her girlfriends put their hands on her shoulders, trying to ease her concerns.

"I'm sure the defense will be able to hold out. They've done rather well and they've had time to rest. Maybe returning to the field fresh will improve their chances of retaining the lead?" Winter offered, trying to ease the tension in her shoulders.

"And there's still plenty of time left. Maybe our next, up, attack will be better?" Blake's arms around her waist tightened briefly.

She sighed. "Okay, bad plays happen. Miscues, picks, yada yada- I'm not _actually_ upset." Looking between her girlfriends, Yang offered a small smile. "Look, I know this isn't your thing, either of you. But, uh, there's gonna be a lot of yelling, and I don't wanna-"

"Yang." Blake furrowed her brows, ears laying back as well. "If we're making you uncomfortable."

"It's not that-" Shrugging, the blonde reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I just know I get, well, animated. That's… not really your thing, and I get that-"

"Why should it matter if it's our thing or not?" Winter's expression softened. "You enjoy it and I think I speak for both of us when I say seeing you like this is… rather nice." She nodded towards Blake, who seemed to share the sentiment. "We might not quite understand it and we'll probably never get into it the way you do, but that's fine."

"As long as you'll have us, we'd like to share this with you." The Faunus chimed in, glancing at the TV. "And I think something good is happening."

Lilac eyes went back to the TV in time to catch the tail end of a sack. "Oh, yeah! That's _definitely_ something good!" She paused. "You two really mean that? You'd really put up with this-"

"We're not 'putting up' with anything," Blake said, chuckling.

Winter nodded. "Exactly. We _want_ to be here and- oh, is that good or bad? That yellow thing-"

"It's a flag, a foul- false start, _yes_." She clapped her hands together. "That's _good_. For us, for now, anyway."

"Oh. Then, go team."

"I think you're supposed to put a little more enthusiasm in your voice when you say that, Snowdrift." The Faunus chuckled, grabbing her beer and Yang's and handing the latter off. "How about a toast to new traditions?"

Although tempted to roll her eyes, the blonde clinked her bottle against the others' with a smile on her lips. Maybe she wouldn't be spending game days alone after all.

Before she'd finished drinking from her beer, both of her girlfriends leaned in, brushing kisses against her cheek. "Hey! What was-"

"A delayed response, I assure you." Winter smirked while Blake picked up, the two apparently haven gotten on the same wavelength at some point.

"Next time we score, kisses to celebrate." One dark brow arched. "If that's okay."

"Oh. Oh it's _more_ than okay." She laughed, nodding along and returning her attention to the screen.

Yeah, she could _definitely_ do with some company on game days.


End file.
